Begin Again
by Taiyo Targaryen
Summary: It's been ten years, Sasuke's finally ready to come to terms with the fact it's over. But life has other plans. This is AU (alternate universe) Sasuke and Naruto are both 29. SasuNaru Angst, rated M for strong Yaoi Boy x Boy, sex, strong language and adult themes.
1. Shrink

"_It's been ten years… I know that's a long time- but I still can't, stop thinking about them. Things ended so badly- I have so many regrets… I wish it could have been different, that maybe we were still friends afterwards… who am I kidding. I wish we never even ended… things would be so good now. They- made everything easier… they, made me happy. I can't even remember the last time I was happy, the last time I enjoyed a meal, had a lover, heck even a good nights sleep… I just wish I could get a second chance…"  
_  
The clock ticked, and the sound of a biro scribbling on paper accompanied it, creating an irritating and tense atmosphere in the diminutive room, occupied by nothing but a potted Ficus, a long leather couch and high backed leather arm chair, a standing lamp and an annoyingly bland painting of mount Fuji, and of course that wall clock, ticking and ticking indicating more of the allotted time slot slipping away.  
"So- why are you here, what do you hope to achieve from these sessions?" The man was old, in is early fifties but good looking, his dark hair was going slightly silver but his face remained handsome behind half moon glasses, he wore a chic brown tweed suit with a blue tie and laid back in the arm chair, scribbling away in a little black book.  
"I-… I don't know." Spat the other male in the room who sat up on the leather couch and ran his hands through his hair with a shake of his head.  
Sasuke Uchiha was young, devilishly handsome and impeccably well dressed, his hair jet black and perfectly styled, sticking up at the back but flawlessly cut into neat bangs to shape his angelic chiselled face, though his profound, onyx eyes were heavy and sleepless, stress evident in the bags beneath them. "-It was work, they told me I needed to see someone, or else-… they'd have no choice but to sign me off." He admitted through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes at the therapist sat opposite.  
"I see…" The Doctor murmured back and set down his note pad, he leant forward to eye Sasuke with an 'understanding' expression carved expertly on his face.  
"-And, this person… you're referring to as they, are they… male or female?" He asked cautiously and no sooner than the words left his mouth Sasuke shot to his feet, pulling on the lapels of his navy blue Versace suit, a stout and irritated, somewhat irked expression. "Why should it matter?! More to the point- why are you asking?! I'm not paying you to ask questions like that- hey stop writing that!" Sasuke suddenly became very angry and defensive, yanking the man's pen from his hand and snapping it clean in half. However the doctor remained perfectly calm, simply looking up at Sasuke with a soft, unadorned smile on his face.  
"I think that answers my question." He said plainly, turning Sasuke's face a shade of puce.  
"Are we done here? This is a waste of time." Sasuke spat and began pacing the small room.  
"You did pay for a full hour session Mr. Uchiha." Said the doctor calmly with that same, placid smile.  
"Fuck it- I'm leaving. Thanks for your time." Came Sasuke's bitter growl of response and with that he rapidly exited the therapy room and set off in a pissy march down the corridor, whipping out his iPhone 6 and speed-dialling one. 

"_Aah my dear little brother, how did your appointment with the shrink go?" _ The cool calm voice of Sasuke's old brother sounded from the phone, Sasuke cringed and held it away from him, already Itachi had pissed him off._  
_"He's not a shrink he's a therapist." He murmured back with his teeth still gritted. "And it was shit- it's a total waste of time and money…" took on the air of a stroppy teenager as he slumped down the corridor, giving an innocent water cooler a fractious kick before exiting the building and heading for his black Lamborghini parked just outside.

"_Oh? I see you gave it a real chance then?" _Itachi's reply was drawl and sarcastic as ever.  
"I just know it's no use, what's talking about the past going to do- it won't change anything… what's done is done. Although- it's the first time I've ever… spoken about him, since…that day." Sasuke murmured as he slid into the driving seat of his car, staring at the wheel in front of him.  
_"It's been ten years, Sasuke… you need to move on, think about settling down, starting a family of your own, you're twenty nine now…" _ Itachi informed Sasuke which just made him cringe. This was all his brother had spoken about since their parents were murdered, eight years ago. Carrying on the blood line… the amount of girls he'd been forced to meet up with and date since then, he'd lost count… Itachi said that it didn't matter if he loved them, if they loved him, as long as they put on a show for the press, had sex a few times and had a few kids. The idea alone turned the younger Uchiha's stomach… that maybe how his brother chose to live, with his perfect show wife and two brats… but not him.  
"Enough already Itachi… I'm not in the mood." Sasuke grunted, his eyes narrowing and one hand gripping the leather-wrapped steering wheel. He heard a sigh from the other end of the phone, other than that there was silence from his brother.  
"I have to go- I'll be in the office tomorrow whether you want me there or not." Sasuke told his elder before he could stop him and quickly hung up his phone, tossing it onto the passenger seat beside him, heatedly starting the engine and with smooth roaring purr he pulled out of the parking lot and turned on the radio as he drove away from the clinic he vowed never to attend again… it was a bad idea, opening up like that, he could feel everything bubbling to the surface again, suffocating him, his stomach was in knots and his vision almost blurred from the maze of thoughts in his mind. He needed a cigarette. He needed a drink, drinks… lots of drinks.

Sasuke went about his usual 'I'm depressed routine'. This consisted of a two hour session at the gym, followed by a solitary dinner at his favourite restaurant accompanied by a bottled of wine, followed by another. By this time Sasuke was inebriated enough to make his way to one of the night clubs in town where he continued to drink until everything became totally numb. Then he'd find a man, any man, as long as they fit his criteria, 25-32, medium height, average build, tanned skin, blue eyes and blonde hair… any man who looked like that Sasuke would seduce by any means necessary, sweet talk, false promise, drinks, sometimes even money, he'd take them home to his apartment and fuck them until the early hours of the morning, whisper sweet nothings into their ears until they both fell to sleep, which was what Sasuke liked the most, sleeping beside someone. But by the morning, Sasuke hardly remembered what had happened, sometimes the guys were still there, clingy and needy, wanting more wanting dates and Sasuke had to cruelly cast them out without so much as a goodbye, other times they'd be gone by morning, just sickening evidence of the night before all that remained.

Today was one of those mornings, Sasuke awoke in a cold empty bed, the sheets were ruffled and covered in numerous suspicious stains, a used condom and a scattering of Sasuke's clothes, a cigarette packet and an empty bottle of champagne littered the carpet of his bedroom and the whole room stank of sex and alcohol.  
Sasuke groaned as the pain of a hangover throbbed in his head which he rose a hand to and rubbed. "Fuck-…" As he slid out of bed and cracked his eyes opened he noticed a small neatly written note on the pillow.  
'_Morning sexy, last night was incredible. Sorry I had to leave so early, call me. Shinobou. X x x'  
_Sasuke pulled a face and screwed up the note, tossing it into the bin before glancing around at the mess he and this 'Shinobou' had made of his room…  
"This has gotta stop…" He muttered and paced over to his en suite to de-shame, I.e., take a long ice cold shower and go about his usual skin care routine which consisted of several different moisturisers.  
Once he was dressed with three strong black coffees and two aspirins inside him Sasuke drove to work with the radio on, grateful he couldn't remember anything from last night.

Once in his office Sasuke began to feel a little more human, he was the type of guy that thrived on work, he liked his mind to be kept busy, on average Sasuke worked about seventy hours a week until Itachi stuck his oar in and demanded he took some time off due to how poor his health had been recently. As Sasuke started up his Mac and began answering emails that had piled up over the past two days the door to his office opened and his brother strolled in, wearing his customary black suit and red shirt with a black tie, with his pale skin and raven hair tied back in a pony tail he resembled a vampire or something, but devilishly handsome, just like Sasuke.  
"Rough night last night little brother?" He smirked, perching on Sasuke's desk, picking up a paper weight which he began to twiddle idly between each hand.  
"Hn." Sasuke grunted without taking his eyes off the screen.  
"You drunk dialled me last night-… started wailing on about _him_… then some guy, Shinobou I think it was, took the phone and said he'd take care of you- and by the look of you I imagine he did… or, your penis at least."  
Sasuke slammed his hands down on the keyboard and shot his brother an icy expression.  
"Would you shut up already?!" He snarled at his brother shoving him off the desk, but Itachi's cat like reflexes made it seem like an elegant hop to his feet. He smirked down at his brother and tossed the paperweight at him, which luckily, Sasuke caught with one hand and slammed onto his oak desk with gusto.  
"You only have yourself to blame little brother." He sighed, leaning over to poke his brooding sibling in the forehead with two fingers.  
"You need to, what's a polite way to say this… get your shit together." He informed him; Sasuke leant back in his chair and rolled his eyes.  
"I know, I know…" He sighed back in defeat and glanced up at his elder.  
"This is why- I'm giving you a little more responsibility, in the business." This perked Sasuke up a little, he sat up in his seat, his eyes suddenly alight with interest.  
"Oh?"  
"We need someone to run a new office for the company- and I can't think of anyone better than myself to run it, so-… I decided you would be the one."  
Sasuke had trouble deciding whether this was a compliment or not, either way, it was music to his ears! Anything to get away from the pressure of his brother.  
"Yes. I'll do it. I'll run the office." Sasuke instantly replied with a slight smirk tugging at his lips. He'd been longing to be his own boss well, since he left school.  
"Where is it? New York, Paris, London?" He asked eagerly, knowing those were some of the planned locations the company were thinking of expanding to.  
"No-… not quite, the office is in Konoha." Itachi replied coolly, and the room fell eerily silent...  
"Konoha…" Sasuke whispered, his throat tight and his teeth gritted.  
"OF ALL THE GOD DAMN PLACES!"

-

_I hope you enjoyed that!  
I haven't written for a while and was itching to start a new long SasuNaru fic, particularly since the Manga is ending soon…  
Please review! I'll add chapters as frequently as I can and welcome any constructive criticism/feedback and also ideas for upcoming chapters. :D_

_Thanks for reading~_


	2. Drive

This reaction was just what Itachi had anticipated, in fact it was almost as if he'd done it on purpose, perhaps he had, it was impossible to tell with his dead pan demeanour. Sasuke was now pacing the room, raking his fingers through his hair so vigorously that it looked like he was on the verge of ripping it out already.  
"Damnit Itachi. I can't do this. You know I can't do this-… I can't go back to Konoha. Not with him there…" Sasuke spoke at a hundred miles per hour, quite out of character for the cool and composed male; his eyes were wide as he shook his head, trying to comprehend the idea of moving back there.  
"Grow up Sasuke." Itachi scolded him now, slamming his hand down on the desk and getting to his feet to get his brother's attention, once he'd gained it he narrowed his eyes and held Sasuke's gaze. "Konoha is our home- it made sense to have an office there- and I want you to run it, we need to keep the business in the family." He reminded him. Sasuke seemed to be calming down a little now, he sat back at his desk with his face in his hands, and a low groan could be heard through his finger tips.  
"Why can't I run_ this_ office?" He mumbled childishly, really fighting his case.  
"Because you aren't mature enough- a fact which you've just proven to me further by your tantrum." The older Uchiha informed him steadily.  
Sasuke huffed in response and folded his arms stoically across his puffed out chest as he glared out of the window at Tokyo.  
"Do I _have_ a choice?" He asked after a few moments of silence.  
"No." Itachi snapped back bluntly, giving his brother a slight smirk. "If you deny the position I'll have no choice but to fire you." He added to which Sasuke's eyes widened like dinner plates, what little colour he had in his face completely drained. That was it then, he was moving back to his hometown, facing up to his fast, the thought made him feel sick. Or maybe it was the hangover, either way, Sasuke just wanted to crawl into bed right now and stay there.

Two weeks passed, two weeks was all Sasuke had to get his head around the fact he had to move back 'home'. Konoha wasn't a big town, everyone was into everyone's business and he knew news of his return would be around the whole village by the time the first day was out. The raven gazed around his now empty apartment, his stuff had already been taken over to his new place in Konoha, and he was actually going to miss this, his first real place.  
With a sigh, Sasuke left his keys on the kitchen worktop for the realtor and switched off the light, carrying a box of keepsakes and his small bonsai tree down the corridor and out of the apartment block to his car.  
The drive was tedious with long straight roads, each mile was taking him closer and closer to his former lover and the nerves began to kick in, sweaty palms on the steering wheel, his heart pounding in his chest each time he saw a road sign for Konoha, and his stomach lay in knots something which only worsened as he came off the high way and down the narrow and winding roads, through forests and mountains and eventually past a sign that said 'welcome to Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves.'  
"Welcome home Sasuke…" The Uchiha murmured to himself and turned off the radio as he glanced at the name of the hotel he'd be staying at tonight until he could pick up the keys to his new apartment tomorrow. It sent chills up Sasuke's spine to drive through the town, past the school he spent his early years of life, the old estate that his entire ancient Family once populated, a family that had all but died out apart from Sasuke and Itachi, with his vile spawn.  
When Sasuke left ten years ago, he vowed never to return, never to relive the memories this place held.  
As he drove through the busier part of the village heads began to turn and eyes began to widen, it wasn't every day the people of Konoha saw a jet black Lamborghini with blacked out windows roaring down the high street.

"Would you look at that? I wonder who it is- they're not from here driving a flashy car like that, do you think they're from the city?" A woman gossiped to her friend sat outside the town's most popular eating spot, Ichiraku ramen, which was no more than a bar under a canopy where ramen was served, with a few tables either side. At one of said tables sat a group of young adults, at the centre of which was a cute looking blonde with a shaggy mess of golden layered hair, perfectly tanned skin and eyes that rivalled the brightest blue sky, radiating light and happiness he was striking to say the least wearing an orange and black varsity jacket and ripped blue jeans with orange and black hi-tops. Said male was currently shovelling a bowl of ramen into his mouth with chopsticks, grinning and guffawing with laughter at one of his friend's jokes, a young, pretty woman with pink hair sat beside him gave him a sour look and a thump on the arm.  
"OW SAKURA CHAN YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO-… whoa…" The blonde's yell was cut short when he heard the purr of an expensive engine and saw the black car crawling through traffic down the high street.  
"Would ya' look at that?" He mumbled his friends turned their head's to gawp too; the girls looked intrigued whereas the boys looked both impressed and envious. "Phew- sweet ride!" Grinned a wolfish looking brunette man with fang-like canines. "Who in this dump drives a car like that?!" He echoed the women from the other table and glanced at his blonde companion who had suddenly gone very quiet.  
"I know one person…" He mumbled, his eyes glazing over somewhat.  
The brunette rolled his eyes and gave the blonde a friendly shove. "Hey, would you quit it? You've been mentioning him a lot lately, what's with you?" He asked with a scowl, no sooner had he said that the blonde snapped himself out of it and shook his head, a foolish grin re-appeared on his face.  
"Heh! Nothin'! And I gotta go!" He cheered enthusiastically as the car drove out of sight he jumped to his feet. "I have that job interview today!" He told his friends.  
The girl with the pink hair looked him up and down and pulled a distinctly unimpressed expression as she took in his attire. "Uh-… You're not going to wear that are you? You look so scruffy!" She scolded, the blonde pouted in response and folded his arms before glancing down at what he was wearing and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh-… I guess, I've… never really had a proper interview before- I don't have any fancy stuff?" He mumbled. "Could you help me, Sakura?" He asked sheepishly.  
Sakura sighed and nodded reluctantly, waving goodbye to the rest of the group, she and scruffy blonde left together to head into town to find something to wear.

Meanwhile Sasuke had already checked into his hotel, it was a fancy five star place, occupied mainly by people on business trips to the area, people like him that didn't look like they belonged in a town like this.  
The Uchiha wasted little time in dropping of his stuff, having a quick coffee before setting off to his new office.  
It was a surprisingly modern building with mirrored glass all the way up and Uchiha Industries across a sign at the top with the family crest, a small red and white fan.  
Sasuke entered through the revolving doors and smirked at the

immaculately pristine lobby which smelt brand new, freshly painted with shimmering marble floor, crisp leather couches, a spotless desk and even a water fountain with a few large potted plants.  
"Ah, Uchiha-san. A pleasure to see you!" Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he was greeted by a most peculiar man, if you could call him that, he looked more like a reptile, a snake to be exact. His skin was as white as a fax paper framed limply by two sheets of long, black and somewhat greasy looking hair. His features were thin and watery and his body shape frail but he was smartly dressed in a black suit with a light purple tie. "…Hello." Sasuke replied cautiously as the snake-man outstretched a skeletal hand, his amber eyes glinting and a creepy smile etching slowly on his lips when Sasuke reluctantly shook it, complete with a small grimace .  
"Who are you?" The Uchiha asked bluntly as he snatched his hand back to his side.  
"Oh? ~" The man purred in his strange, chorus like voice which definitely had a distinct hiss about it.  
"Itachi didn't tell you? My name is Orochimaru, and I'll be you're new advisor, mentor if you will. I've worked with your brother for many years, your father too in fact… he sent me here to help you run the new branch of the business, a long with a few associates of my own." He smiled simperingly.  
Sasuke began to inwardly simmer with rage. His brother didn't even trust him to run the damn business on his own, not only that, he'd sent some weirdo to help him.  
"I see." Was all Sasuke managed to reply, pursing his lips as three figures came through a door behind Orochimaru, wearing similar attire, the group consisted of a skinny, pale man with white hair and violet eyes and a manic expression, a much bigger, taller man with spiked orange hair and kind eyes, and a woman with long deep red hair and glasses who seemed to tense up as she saw Sasuke.  
"Sasuke, I'd like you to meet, Suigetsu, your Marketing manager, Juugo head of security and Karin who'll be your pA." Orochimaru introduced the three of them one by one, Sasuke robotically shook each of their hands and nodded in acknowledgment, but he could not be less interested… there were plenty of other people working here too, commercial sales people, designers, market researchers, engineers and secutaries and Sasuke was in charge of them all, it was a little overwhelming but he couldn't help but smirk.  
"I'll be going to my office now." He told them all and pushed between Suigetsu and Karin towards the lift but annoyingly, the red headed woman chased after him just before the doors shut. "S-Sasuke kun!" She all but yelled, pushing her glasses up her nose, unable to look him in the eye.  
"Uchiha-San." Sasuke corrected her as the lift doors shut and pressed the top floor button.  
"U-Uchiha san!" Karin continued hastily, blushing at her mistake. "Is there anything I can do for you, I am your pA after all." She seemed to stutter, getting very flustered in the enclosed space of the lift.  
"No."  
"…Well I'm interviewing an intern this afternoon." She persisted.  
"Wonderful." Sasuke murmured and rolled his eyes, interns were annoying, more so even than this damn red head.  
"Get me a coffee." Sasuke demanded as they left the lift and he began marching towards his office just as an excuse to get rid of her, and true enough she scuttled away with a quick nod.  
Once in his office Sasuke approached the huge floor to ceiling windows and pressed his forehead against the cool glass, gazing out at the town. His office was quiet, and it smelt so crisp and new. It was Sasuke Uchiha's ambition to run his own business, to be his own boss to answer to no one, but now he was here, he somehow felt, empty, trapped… why this place? Why here? 

"So, you ready?" Sakura asked the handsome, now smartly dressed blonde in front of her, his shirt was somewhat gaudy, a bright orange under a black suit jacket with a black silk tie and smartly ironed black pants, shoes so shiny you could see your face in them.  
"Mhm! Sure- I'm gunna nail it!" He replied with a bright grin and Sakura quickly hugged him.  
"Good luck- oh and you never actually said where the interview was?" She asked and the man before her drew a blank. "Uh-… I forget what it's called… some new office across town, all I know is it's a technology company from Tokyo." He shrugged and gave her a quick wave before strolling off towards the office in question.  
The blonde's head was so much in the clouds he failed to notice the sign on the building, on the doors of the building which he entered. He simply approached the front desk and greeted the receptionist there with a smile.  
"Hey- I'm here for an interview for the intern job thingy?" He said in a loud friendly voice, the tight lipped blonde secretary woman gave him a dirty look before turning to her computer screen.  
"Name?"  
"Uzumaki Naruto!" He chimed and the receptionist handed him a visitor's badge, instructing him to go to the twelfth floor which Naruto did happily a spring in his step as he ascended the lift and followed the receptionist's instructions to one of the conference rooms where Karin was waiting for him with some paperwork laid out.  
"Hey- I'm Uzumaki Naruto; I'm here for the interview!" He told her and sat down without invitation. "Oh!" He added and leant across the table to shake her by the hand, surprised and somewhat horrified by his lack of professionalism Karin cleared her throat and glanced at the list of questions she'd set to ask him.  
"Right, well- take a seat…so, what made you apply for the internship here at Uchiha Industries?" She began with a smile.  
"Oh! Well actually I didn't apply- my papa, Iruka sent my-… wait… huh? U…chi… ha? Uchiha Industries?" It sounded as if the words were becoming stuck in the blonde's throat, his eyes began to shake and the colour began to drain from his face.  
"Yes? That's right- this is the new branch, extended from Tokyo- you've heard of the company?" She asked, confused by Naruto's reaction to the name.  
"Yes. I have." Naruto's whole demeanour changed from a sunny, idiotic blonde to a reserved, brooding man, hurt began to show in his eyes and Karin was unsure of how to progress the interview.

Behind them, the door slowly opened and Sasuke Uchiha entered the board room, a mug of coffee in one hand and a file of papers in the other.  
"Apologies for my late-…" Sasuke's eyes instantly fell on the figure sat in the seat in front of him, years of memories came flooding back through his brain all at once, years of laughter, happiness, love, anger, fear, pain and heart break hit him like a ten tonne truck all at once. He barely noticed it but the mug, half filled with scalding black coffee was falling through his finger tips, crashing to the floor and shattering into dozens of pieces, at that point, the blonde head turned and azure orbs met Onyx across the room, a soft gasp proceeded to leave the blonde's parted lips.  
"Sasuke…"  
"Naruto…"

-  
_such cheese! *^*  
I hope this gives you a taste of things to come, this fanfic is going to be pretty drawn out so please stick with it if you can cope with the angst! Feedback and ideas are really appreciated please help me out you wonderful people. :D_

_Next chapter will be up probably next weekend! ^u^_


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